Author: Dave

How did FloBeds begin to make natural latex mattresses in Northern California?

It starts with sourcing the best materials possible. Our Latex Mattress cover is made with Organic euro-knit Cotton quilted to Organic Wool. Not only does the cover and wool provide you with soft yielding comfort that does not interfere with the natural latex inside, it is naturally fire resistant. That means we can provide pure comfort without chemicals. Inside the FloBed you will only find Talalay latex. A Talalay Latex Mattress costs more to make than a standard dunlop processed latex mattress, but the Talalay process results in a more supple and conforming latex foam that outlast regular latex.

And for best foundation in a supporting role… the FloBed slatted foundations (Euro, Fir and Pine). Build like a house, our foundations rely on positive wood on wood support (solid FSC certified ponderosa pine). We use twice as much wood in our foundations… but as they say: “It starts with a good foundation.”

All of us at the FloBeds Latex Mattress Company are so excited to send this two awesome fifth grade students on their way to college. The Mendocino College Foundation has an Adopt-a-Fifth-Grader program: Companies (or individuals) can donate $700 to the foundation for a deserving fifth grader selected by the school. The Foundation guarantees that student will receive $1,000 at graduation towards tuition and books at Mendocino Community Collegeor $500 at another college. This year Fort Bragg Rotary did a match of $200 for every $500 given, enabling FloBeds to turn $1,000 into $2,000 for two fifth graders. Last year there were three students in the program here on the Mendocino Coast. This year, with Rotary’s help and motivation, we have thirty fifth graders thinking about college!

Built in Fort Bragg… shipped worldwide!

This is such a powerful program. Student who have shown themselves to be hardworking, diligent and good citizens are selected by their teachers. At an early age they are gifted with a scholarship to go to college. The next 7 years they will have college on their minds. And it will spread to their friends… that’s just the way of it.

Where can I buy a natural latex mattress?
In the 1940’s and 1950’s latex was the popular good quality mattress material. With the advent of national brands developed through advertising on the three major networks, in combination with rising dominance of department stores, cost cutting became more important than quality. The “Big S’s” — Simmons, Sealy, Serta, Spring Air — replaced latex foam rubber with the cheaper polyurethane foam. The then largest purchaser of foam rubber, the auto industry, also switched due to cost and weight. Soon there was only one producer of latex foam rubber in the United States (Latex International, now known as Talalay Global). In the 1980’s and early 1990’s Englander Mattress Company was the only distributer of latex mattresses through-out the United States. Meanwhile, in Europe latex foam rubber remained the quality mattress material of choice. One reason was the difficulty of mass marketing in Europe where language and currency created smaller trade areas and rewarded quality over marketing.In 1996, while in semi-retirement on the north coast of California, water bed entrepreneur was looking for the right materials to put into his on-line mattress project. Dave Turner met Roger Coffee from Latex International at a trade show and saw the potential high quality latex in his new Customizable Mattress sold directly to the consumer via his new website: FloBeds.com. At first FloBeds offered half-latex/half-water or half-latex/half-air or half-latex/half-firmer-latex shipped direct to the customer via UPS. It wasn’t long before Dave saw that the customer almost always preferred the latex side and the water and air were dropped from the system. FloBeds became the largest west coast distributer of latex. Thus began the modern online direct-to-consumer bed-in-a-box business. At first the traditional companies smiled and asked “who would want a mattress that had different firmnesses on each side?” FloBeds quietly grew by double digits each year. A few companies copied the design.Then along came Casper Mattress with its’ $15 million it raised from investors like Ashton Kutcher, Nas, and designer Steven Alan. “Keep It Simple Stupid” matched with great marketing proved to be a one-mattress-fits-all winner in the low-end mattress world But they only had 3/4″ of latex and 3/4″ of memory foam over… you guessed it: polyurethane. Watching their sales rocket to $20 million in the first year was like throwing one hundred dollar bills in a crowed New York intersection. Over 5 new startups mobbed the online mattress business.A few have latex. Most are sub $1,000 products with plain vanilla ingredients and a million dollar marketing effort. Here are some of bigger advertisers:Leesa
Yogabed
Cocoon
Eve
Saatva’s Loom & Leaf division
Dreambed
Bedinabox
Helix
GhostBed
Amerisleep
Lul
WinkBeds
Nest bedding
Layla
Novosbed
Brooklyn Bedding
Intellibed
Purple
PlushBeds
Alexander by Nest
Zenhaven by Saatva
Spindle Mattress
Aviya
Turf & Needle
Bear Mattress
Hyphen
EzoBed
Dream on One
Nolah
Eve
Endy
Brentwood Home
Zinus
Luxi
SonnoBed
Ameena
myCloud
WRiGHT
Yogabed
Organica Mattress
Safavieh Dream
and then there is FloBeds, most of whose customers come by word of mouth.

What is the best natural mattress?
There are several companies that make very good natural mattresses. One of the best is Royalpedic. OMI makes a very good organic mattress line, as does Savvyrest. FloBeds was the first to use natural wool as a fire barrier to pass the 2007 Federal Standard for the Flammability of Mattress Sets (Open Flame Test) — Consumer Product Safety Commission – 16 CFR Part 1633. The CPSC didn’t believe FloBeds could pass without using FR chemicals or artificial barriers. They sent two inspectors to the north coast of California and picked up two FloBeds Natural Latex Mattresses covered with Organic Cotton and Wool.

What is the best natural latex mattress?
There are three competitors for the best of class: OMI, Savvyrest and FloBeds.

How to buy a natural mattress.
The first thing is to consider your sleeping needs. Do you sleep on your back, side or stomach… or a combination of those? Do you have pain issues with shoulders or hips when you sleep on your side? How much do you weigh? Does your partner weight more or less than you? Do you generally like firmer or softer mattresses. Make sure you can change your firmness after you receive your new mattress. And if you can not get your firmness just right, make sure you can get your money back. Be sure each of you can have the firmness on your side correct for your body, your pressure points, your spine and your good night’s sleep. And then make sure you can adjust your mattress firmness for the life of the mattress, which should be at least 20 years.

How to choose a natural mattress.Service: Look for a company with a reputation for taking care of its customers over the long haul. Not just a couple of years, but at least 10 years. Prefferably for over 20, because you want them to be there when you need them… not just cashing in on a trend and then moving on or disbanding.Quality: Look for superior components like Natural Talalay Latex, Organic Cotton, American or European raised Organic Wool and FSC certified lumber.Value: Look for honest pricing, without the ever-lasting sale. Prices that are fair. Weigh quality and service combined with price.

How to order a natural mattress — How to buy a latex mattress.
Order a mattress only after assuring yourself:
–That your personal sleep demographics (age, weight, sleep position, sex, etc.) have been taken into account.
–That you can change firmness, now and over the life of the mattress. (And that the company has a history of always having on hand the inventory you might need.)
–That you can get your money back.
–That it will be shipped to you within 1-3 days.

Where to buy a latex mattress.Look for honesty, quality and service. Consider OMI, Savvyrest and FloBeds.

Latex mattress – which brand is best?
OMI, Savvyrest and FloBeds.

Which latex mattress should I buy?
Consider your sleeping needs. See FAQ 6 and 7 above.

Which latex mattress is the best?— What’s the best latex mattress on the market?— What’s the best latex mattress?
The FloBeds vZone is made with the highest quality components and has the most versatility.

Who makes the best latex mattress?
OMI, Savvyrest and FloBeds.

What is a talalay latex mattress?
The undesputed superior latex is Talalay. It takes five times as long to make a Talalay latex core than a Dunlop latex core. Talaly is more consistant, supple and comfortable.
*Liquid rubber whipped into a foam and poured into a mold.
*When closed the mold has rods that go through the foamed rubber.
*A vacuum is placed on the mold, which removes air bubbles/pockets and distributes the liquid rubber evenly through the mold.
*CO2 is run through the rods, freezing the foamed rubber and locking in the consistency.
*Heat is sent through the rods, providing even temperature and yielding a consistent latex cores without air pockets or uneven firmnesses.

What is an organic latex mattress?What is a natural latex mattress?
The undesputed superior latex is Talalay. It takes five times as long to make a Talalay latex core than a Dunlop latex core. Talaly is more consistant, supple and comfortable. Both come in a complete range of firmnesses (some companies make their latex mattresses with Dunlop on the bottom and Talalay on top, saying “you want firmer base”, but that does not make comfort sense. Firm Talalay on bottom will feel the same as Firm Dulnop on bottom: you just won’t be able to move the Dunlop up closer to your body without comprising the pressure relief gained from Talalay). So, taking the cleanest, best Natural Talalay Latex and surrounding it with Organic Cotton and Wool makes the best organic latex mattress.

How firm is a latex mattress?Some companies make their latex mattress in one or two firmnesses. This means you are choosing a firmness for the convenience of the company, not what your body needs. For over 20 years FloBeds has been offering 5 firmness cores (Soft, Medium, Firm, Extra-Firm and SuperFirm) in up to 13 firmness combinations (S/S, S/M, M/S, M/M, M/F, F/M, F/F, F/XF, XF/F, XF/XF, XF/SF, SF/XF and SF/SF). Consider that 13 firmnesses was for the 2-core layer Select from the 1990’s, and that now that FloBeds has a vZone with changeable Zones and a 3-core layer Deluxe the combinations are in the hundreds. With a FloBed, you are guaranteed your firmness will be Just Right.

How much does a latex mattress cost?
Latex mattresses cost from $699 to $8,000. The OMI Duo king is $8,000. Savvyrest Unity Pillowtop king is $5,000. FloBeds vZone king is $3,000.

How is a latex mattress is made?— How are latex mattress made?
Latex is a milky white liquid composed of rubber particles dispersed in water. This material is whipped with air to form a foam, which is heated to produce foam rubber, or latex. The soft, supple products of a real foam rubber are what make our products superior. Latex is inherently hypo-allergenic, anti-microbial and dust-mite resistant. Latex is not a plastic foam, like polyurethane or furniture foam. It is a denser product made of rubber to last a lifetime. Unlike urethane, latex will feel as good years from now as it does the day it is produced.

Are latex mattresses comfortable?
No other mattress material confoms to your body’s nooks and crannies like Talalay latex. It pushes back in just the right places. It doesn’t break down and cause your back to sag.

Are latex mattresses better than spring?
Latex mattresses out-last and out-perform springs. It contours to your body and provides support where you need it. Because latex is a natural product (made from the milk of the rubber tree) it costs more than a twist of wire into a spring.

Are latex mattresses less toxic?
Mattresses companies over the last 50 years have created unhealthy sleep environments. The polyfoam has chemicals you don’t want to breathe. FR chemicals are even worse. Natural latex combined with a cover made with organic cotton and wool make the cleanest mattress possible.

Are latex mattresses good for back pain?
Latex mattresses that offer the ability to adjust your firmness are the answer to a lifetime of back pain. The right firmness of Talalay latex can align your spine and relieve pressure points. Side sleepers that suffer from back pain will want to look a zone layer that can be adjusted at each pressure point (like the FloBeds vZone).

Are latex mattresses hot?
Latex mattress made from Talalay latex have an open cell foam rubber structure, allow air to move and help you sleep cool. Surround the Talalay latex with Organic cotton & wool for maximum air circulation and you will sleep cool and comfortable. Add a slatted foundation to enhance air flow and you have covered all the bases.

Give your body (spine, lumbar, shoulders and hips) the support it requires with a proper mattress.

If you can take care of items 1 – 5, we can help you get a mattress that, as Goldilocks said, is Just Right.

To design a mattress that gives you spinal alignment as well as relief for your pressure points, just take a momement to tell us about your six sleep demographics:

Click here and we will design your sleep system

How old are you?

What is your height?

What is your weight?

Are you male or female?

Do you predominantly sleep on your back, stomach or side?

Do you generally like your mattress softer or firmer.

We make every mattress out of Talalay Latex surrounded by Organic EuroKnit Cotton quilted to Organic Wool. Each side is designed for each sleeper. Life

Click to see our 20 year Goldilocks Guarantee

is too short to compromise on proper support in your mattress. We will build your mattress to your sleep demographics. And every FloBed is adjustable. With our Goldilocks Guarantee you can make it softer or firmer for the 20 year life of the mattress.

Because we manufacture every FloBed latex mattress and ship it directly to you, we can afford to put in the very best materials and provide you with unparalleled customer service. All at a price that is less than you will find in the traditional distribution cycle because you are only paying for the materials and the 10 person company that makes your FloBed. You are not paying for storefronts, wholesale and retail sales force, extra transport and all the usual cost of doing business. You get a Talalay Latex Mattress and a money back guarantee as well as a Goldilocks Guarantee allowing you to order new firmness cores at a steep discount for 20 years.

Back in the 1996 we had a crazy dream: allow customers to design a quality mattress online that would meet their sleeping needs… not just a good compromise, but a mattress each sleeper could choose the right mattress configuration for their body. Five years later Temma Ehrenfeld, of Newsweek, coined “Goldilocks Was Right” after purchasing a FloBed and then writing about it…
and we’ve been helping folks make their bed “Just Right” ever since.

The one thing we have never lost sight of is treating our customers like we would want to be treated. That adds up to: 1) making our mattresses out of the best materials we can find — Talalay latex of just the right firmness combinations cut precisely to fit together in a single unit of individualized comfort and 2) unparalleled customer service.

Anne and I are visiting New York City and our daughter, Bryna, to witness her professional playwriting debut. The Lincoln Center LCT3 Theater is producing her comedy: Bull in a China Shop (LCT3 produces shows by new playwrights, directors and designers). http://www.lct.org/shows/bull-china-shop/

Needless to say, we are proud parents and are having a blast. The play is still in previews and it is amazing to watch the actors, director and playwright fine tune the production up until the March 1st opening. Last night the cast and show were surprised and thrilled to find Gloria Steinem and Christine Ann Lahti in the audience.

I’m supposed to be working on the new website from our apartment in the Upper West Side… but this is just too much fun. (Dewey, I promise to get to it.) I am excited to showcase the easier to navigate site (especially on mobile) and can’t wait to get customer feedback on our latex mattresses .

We arrived the night before the February snow… we knew it might come, but 10 inches? Come on!

Anne walking back from the Metropolitan Museum

It’s pretty much gone now, but us Californians still get shocked walking out in to a 30 degree (feels like 20) morning.

2017 is here and January almost done. Wow! We’ve been working on a new

website to make it easier for enjoying on mobile devices. Please let us know how you like it. (Or don’t:(

One of the goals of this year is to have a more in depth engagement with our customers after the sweet dreams have begun. We have implemented a 3rd party review system to reach out and provide opportunities for feedback, both on our website and company as well as product reviews.

Being Tired isn’t a badge of honor

Being tired isn’t a badge of honor

Co-founder & CEO of Basecamp

Whenever I speak at a conference, I try to catch a few of the other presentations. I tend to stand in the back and listen, observe, and get a general sense of the room.

Lately, I’ve been hearing something that disturbs me. A lot of entrepreneurs on stage have been bragging about not sleeping, telling their audiences about their 16-hour days, and making it sound like hustle-at-all-costs is the way ahead. Rest be damned, they say there’s an endless amount of work to do.

I think this message is one of the most harmful in all of business. Sustained exhaustion is not a rite of passage. It’s a mark of stupidity. Literally. Scientists have suggested that scores on IQ tests decline on each successive day you sleep less than you naturally would. It doesn’t take long before the difference is telling.

People pulling 16-hour days on a regular basis are exhausted. They’re just too tired to notice that their work has suffered because of it.

And there’s more to not getting enough sleep than compromising your own health and creativity. It affects the people around you. When you’re short on sleep, you’re short on patience. You’re ruder to people, less tolerant, less understanding. It’s harder to relate and to pay attention for sustained periods of time.

Sleep-deprived managers are terrible managers, too, not least because of the awful example they set. Why spend the time and money to recruit a brilliant staff if you’re going to drive everyone into a state of insensibility?

If the point of working long hours is to get more work done, and you care about the quality of your work, how can you justify sustained lack of sleep? The only people who try to do so are tired and not thinking straight.

One argument I hear a lot about working long hours is that when you’re just getting started, you have to give it everything you’ve got. I understand that feeling. And there’s certainly some truth to it.

But here’s what I see happen over and over: People don’t stop working that way. We’re creatures of habit. The things you do when you start doing something tend to be the things you continue to do. If you work long hours at the beginning, and that’s all you know, you can easily condition yourself to think this is the only way to operate. I’ve seen so many entrepreneurs burn out following this pattern.

So it’s important especially when you’re forming your habits to get a ton of sleep. You’ll start better, think better, and be a better colleague and boss.Sleep is great for creativity. Sleep is great for problem solving. Aren’t these the things you want more of, not less of, at work?

Your brain is still active at night. It works through matters you can’t address during the day. Don’t you want to wake up with new solutions in your headrather than bags under your eyes?

Yes, sometimes emergencies require extra hours. And, yes, sometimes deadlines can’t be moved and you’ll need to make an extra push at the end. That happens. And that’s OK, because the exhaustion is not sustained; it’s temporary. Such cases should be the exception, not the rule.

In the long run, work is not more important than sleep. If you aren’t sure how important sleep is, think about this: You’ll die faster without sleep than you will without food.

And, on balance, very few problems need to be solved at the 12th, 13th, 14th, or 15th hour of a workday. Nearly everything can wait until morning.

At Basecamp we think 40-hours a week is plenty. We encourage everyone to get a full night’s sleep, every night.

Back in the 90s, we were shipping common carrier. We worked hard to make it possible to ship our latex mattress and quality foundation via UPS by 1998. And we never lost sight of the importance of having the right support for each person. We knew that people of different age, weight, height and sleeping positions deserve a mattress that is built for them.

It is fun to see all the mattress companies popping up on the Internet, making “bed-in-a-box” ubiquitous. But as they say: “Often imitated, never duplicated.”

The “Boxing” is just one part… Many of these ghostly wanna-be’s promote “one firmness fits all”. Crazy, but at last count there were over 60 of these companies… usually offering a couple of inches of latex or memory foam on top of inexpensive polyurethane foam. Glad you found us in the increasing noisy Internet mattress market. We know we have to make each side right. We believe you deserve a mattress made with more than one or two inches of latex (ours, of course, is 100% latex. Top-to-Bottom, Side-to-Side). And of course you deserve a company famous for its unparalleled customer service. Maybe age does matter.

We are excited to announce that FloBeds became a Certified B Corporation® on the Autumnal Equinox, September 22, 2106. B Corps are a new way of identifying companies that use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.

Today, there are over 1,800 Certified B Corps around the globe, including Warby Parker, Patagonia and Ben and Jerry’s. In our little Northern Californian community of Fort Bragg we have Thanksgiving Coffee (the morning engine at FloBeds:), Harvest Market (feeds most of us), The Color Mill and North Coast Brewing (I don’t need to tell you what they do for us… except I should point out that they make an awesome Steller IPA and contribute a portion of Steller sales to help support our local Noyo Center for Marine Science, of which I sit on the board).